The Islamic Jihad shot 12 mortars and gunfire at an IDF post on the border with Gaza on Thursday, leading to an IDF retaliation with tanks and aircraft. The attack also targeted the IDF forces involved in constructing a sensor-equipped underground wall along Gaza border to protect Israeli citizens from Hamas-built terror tunnels.

Directly after the mortar fire, IDF tanks and fighter jets responded by attacking four Hamas lookout positions near Beit Hanoun in northeast Gaza. Later, the IAF mounted a second attack against two targets in the central Gaza Strip, which Palestinian reports said were two Islamic Jihad military posts.

There were no injuries and only minor damage on the Israeli side. Three Gazans were lightly wounded in one of the strikes.

“We know exactly who shot, on a personal level, their names,” said IDF Spokesman Ronen Manelis in an official statement. “It’s safe to assume it is the same group that is operating in an organized manner, not from the gut, but with instructions from Damascus.”

“It is exactly one month since the IDF destroyed the tunnel, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad carried out their retaliation today,” Manelis said.

“We remain ready with the tools necessary and the capabilities at hand should Hamas or the Islamic Jihad act aggressively again… We are not looking to escalate the situation or to initiate hostilities,” IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said to the media.